After Sales Service for Solar Systems

With after sales service, customer relationships do not end with the conclusion of a transaction, but are maintained for a product’s entire duration of use. Unfortunately, solar companies, especially in developing countries, grant after sales service much too little importance. This is fatal, as substantial deficits in after sales service are currently one of the reasons for solar products’ negative image among large portions of the population in rural regions. Poor after sales management is, notably, not compensated for by other positive factors, such as first-class quality. Service realized after sales is decisive in a product’s success or failure and in customer satisfaction.

Employee Training

Afer sales service does not focus solely on a product’s technical ability to function, but also on customer satisfaction. Many employees in solar businesses are primarily technicians who are capable of selling products and installing them. They speak, think, and argue in technical categories. Customer-oriented thinking is foreign to them. They can learn it, in the best cases, through further training. Along with giving them theoretical knowledge of after sales management, practical experience in everyday life provides the best opportunity to learn customer-oriented thinking.

Customer Training

Many people today have expectations of solar technology that are often not possible to fulfill: a simple solar lamp is meant to not only additionally charge a mobile phone, but also supply a radio or even better yet, a small television with power. And, if possible, do so twenty-four hours a day. No one would expect that of a mobile phone, but many technical laypeople expect solar technologies to be super products. Most products used in daily life require no special explanation: their benefits and disadvantages are obvious. With solar facilities, it is different: only very few people have been able to gather experience with this technology or have observed from others, how it works. They do not know what care the product demands or when it has reached its limits. Thus, in addition to instructions for how to correctly charge the battery, customer training must also include how to care for and deal with the product as a whole.